BigTexas

I used white plastic hole plugs similar to below when I changed out my A/C. I actually had to enlarge the holes to get the smallest one's to fit. You don't really notice them but if you do, they just like part of the installation. I was concerned that if I tried to fill the holes, I wouldn't be able to reproduce the glossy finish of the gel coat and that would be more noticeable. https://www.amazon.com/Tnisesm-Plastic-Knockout-Locking-Furniture/dp/B0C3H1J6M8

Welcome, I remember the excitement when I put down my deposit knowing they were building MY Oliver. Visit the forum often. It will make owning your Oliver much more enjoyable. I'm not a Ford guy so I can't comment on specifics but your list looks impressive. One comment regarding 4X4. My last truck didn't have it and I didn't think I needed it due to more maintenance and something else to go wrong. I bought my new (2024) truck off the lot so it was a compromise. I've been surprised how often 4 wheel drive has been the difference between leaving a muddy camp spot and having to spend another day waiting for the ground to dry. I'd recommend keeping that on your list.

I too made the migration from a 1/2 ton truck to 3/4 ton for the reasons of more power and payload. What's the saying, "Buy the right tool once, buy the wrong tool twice". The Oliver is very obedient behind anything (within reason) you tow with. You just might be finding that you want more. However, I may be the contrarian when it comes to hating on the Anderson hitch. It made hooking up easier. I would place the ball about two inches behind the bulldog coupler, attach the whale tale (with chains attached) then lower the coupler onto the ball. Pull forward and the chains would pull the ball and coupler into alignment and the ball would drop in with a reassuring clunk. These days without the Anderson, I seem to spend much more time maneuvering the ball under the coupler to get it to drop in. And I have a camera looking right down on it! 🫤

I have a Home Depot bucket over my tongue jack. However they only last about a year in the Texas sun before they disintegrate. This looks to be a better option. Thanks!

I have to admit. I swallowed pretty hard when I wrote the check for my new Oliver back in 2018. However, it's been relatively trouble free in the eight years I've owned it. Can't say that for most brands. I think the low production run also adds to the desirability. If Hohenwald was stamping trailers out as fast as Casita, it would lower the exclusivity of owning an Oliver. I was happy when Oliver went back to factory only sales.

FINALLY found a weekend to install my Chill Cube and I am not disappointed. It is very quiet, adds some headroom due to it’s sleek air handler and cools the trailer quickly. My experience with it so far is limited to testing to make sure I did everything right. With an outside temp of 101, an interior temp of 95 the Cube was able to drop the inside temp 20 degrees in 45 minutes. Unfortunately, I had to head back home before I was able to explore some of the other features or see how long it would take to reach the 76 degree set point. Regarding sound level, my Cube on low, sounds about the same as my refrigerator at home. Just a gentle background hum. My wife and I used to play white noise through the stereo system at night in an effort to mask the sound of the Dometic freight train over our heads. No more. I’m anxious to take the camper out to see how it does in the real world but we don’t have any trips planned in the near future.

Another Chill Cube customer here however I've not installed it yet. I waited until the heat pump version came out to make my purchase. I didn't see the no drain system as a problem. I have a small window unit at my vacation home that uses the same method of throwing condensate on the condensing coil for additional evaporative cooling. It sounds like a waterfall when it starts but has never dripped. Now, I realize I'm making a big leap of faith the Cube will work the same but I'm not too worried if a little condensate flows off the trailer. We're still rocking lead acid batteries and don't have an inverter. My goal wasn't energy conservation as we're usually plugged in or occasionally on a small generator at lunch stops. My goal was quiet and humidity control in the trailer. My hope is when the Cube ramps down to a constant run state, it will achieve both. Fingers crossed

This is brilliant! Oliver already makes it pretty easy to level the trailer. But if I wanted to make my camping friends (even more) jealous, I would build this and watch them grimace with envy.

I downloaded the pdf for when I get around to doing my upgrade. Thanks for all the detail and thought you put into putting this together.

With all the cautions mentioned above, I do what others have mentioned. Get the trailer close to level using lifts or blocks under the wheels, if needed, and then use the jacks the last few inches to make the trailer level. The jacks are pretty robust and seem to lift and support the trailer without problem. Having said that, I also highly recommend the use of blocks under the lifts to reduce the amount they have to extend. I read this forum weekly if not daily and find it a valuable resource of information for owning, using and enjoying your Oliver.

OK, I'll confess. I've used the screw in plugs...but only because they are so easy to pack and very quick to use. To my surprise they seal pretty well but I consider them very temporary. Just something to get you off the side of the road. If I'm going to plug a tire, I also like the tried and true "string plugs" mentioned above. The concern I have with the screws, is since it's held in mechanically, the flexing of the tire may cause it to dislodge. Now, I've never had one come out so this is pure paranoia on my part. One consideration, is they are a good first attempt because you can back them out as easily as they go in. So if the screw plug doesn't work move on to the string plug or alternative method. I also have the mushroom plug kit. I've never been able to make them work but may be bad technique on my part.

My main concern regarding damaging the system would be if somehow the Ceilo inadvertently bypassed the compressor delay (not allowing high side pressures to normalize before restarting). But it's only providing commands via IR signals. It doesn't have the ability to cut power to the system like opening a circuit breaker and then turning it back on, which could defeat the compressor delay. I think an analogy may be similar to a computer. Power off the computer and it starts a shut down process protecting your data and the system. Pull the plug and you may loose everything. The Ceilo is just giving commands via IR to the motherboard. But the motherboard retains all the manufacturers protection protocols. But I'm no expert. I just watch a lot of YouTube air conditioning videos.

We loved our Casita but I could never go back to the rat fur on the walls. Looking at the layout of the Casita 24 made me wonder if I would trade the closet in the Oliver for the dry bath layout in the new Casita. For me it's an easy no. But I often hear the wet bath in the Oliver is a non starter for some folks.

Ok, this is brilliant. Don't know why I didn't think of this. I've already had to replace the sprayer head once due to freezing. (Where's the head slapping icon?)

As others have noted, these trailers do very well in cold weather. So I think you'll be fine as long as you have heat. We traveled to Moab for a January wedding. There were several days on the road where the temp never got above freezing and the trailer was covered in ice when we arrived at our overnight stop. We relied mainly on the internal water tank as the supply hose would freeze. One lesson we learned was to be gentle with the trailer when you arrive. Without heat, some of the plumbing may have frozen while traveling. Give it some time with the heat on to thaw out. I broke the toilet petal once by being impatient, not knowing the flush valve in the back had frozen. I carry extra flush valves but the pedal is not available as a separate replacement part. Not my finest hour.